Kiki, Miss Independent

Sex: Female

Year Born: 2016

Year arrived at Sanctuary: 2021

Species: Vervet

Favorite Food: Strawberries

Likes:Exploring her new home, eating, meeting monkeys for the first time.

Kiki was taken from her mother at three months old and sold into the pet trade. She lived alone for five years as a pet before her "owners" contacted Born Free USA to ask us to give her a home for life. We are so grateful to them for making the right decision and giving Kiki the chance of a new start with monkey friends. When she arrived, in June 2021, she was worryingly underweight, anemic, and suffering from chronic stress. In the short time that Kiki has been under our care, she has put on some healthy weight, her stress levels are improving, and she has begun to make friends with the other vervet monkeys here at the sanctuary.

She has now met all the other vervets and has made friends with Ricky and Louie. Kiki is surprisingly adept at dealing with other monkeys, given that she was denied a normal upbringing. She must, however, be brought into line if she oversteps – for example, if she tries to take food from another monkey's hand, she will receive a sharp telling-off. This is all part of her becoming an integrated member of a troop and learning lessons that she should have learned from her mother and troop.

Kiki is a very independent monkey and knows what she wants. She likes playing with friends but also likes to have time off on her own and will let her friends know if they are interfering with her "me time." We are delighted with her progress so far and look forward to seeing her continue her journey of recovery.

If you adopt Kiki, consider also adopting Freeman, another monkey rescued from the pet trade.